State News

7:28 am

Tue September 3, 2013

U.S. Senator Kirk reacts to possible attack on Syria

Another Illinois U.S. Senator is reacting to President Barack Obama’s call to attack Syria over its use of chemical weapons.

Republican Senator Mark Kirk uses the same language as the president to talk about the kind of military action he WOULD support in Syria - “limited,” he says, no “boots on the ground.” But Kirk says Obama has failed to gather enough international support.

"And I think the president has been halting here, and unsteady, that I think is difficult to build allied support."

Kirk says the British Parliament’s recent vote NOT to get involved in Syria could make the authorization in Congress harder to pass.

Democrat Dick Durbin recently said he has not yet made his decision. Durbin has indicated he’d be open to debating a U.S. strike in Syria as long as it doesn’t lead to a - quote - “long-term military commitment.”